Germany: Full Censorship Now Official

A new German law introducing state censorship on social media platforms came into effect [1] on October 1, 2017. The new law requires social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, to censor their users on behalf of the German state. Social media companies are obliged [2] to delete or block any online "criminal offenses" such as libel, slander, defamation or incitement, within 24 hours of receipt of a user complaint -- regardless of whether or the content is accurate or not. Social media companies receive seven days for more complicated cases. If they fail to do so, the German government can fine them up to 50 million euros for failing to comply with the law.

This state censorship makes free speech subject to the arbitrary decisions of corporate entities that are likely to censor more than absolutely necessary, rather than risk a crushing fine. When employees of social media companies are appointed as the state's private thought police and given the power to shape the form of current political and cultural discourse by deciding who shall be allowed to speak and what to say, and who shall be shut down, free speech becomes nothing more than a fairy tale

Meanwhile, the district court in Munich recently sentenced a German journalist, Michael Stürzenberger, to six months in jail [3] for posting on his Facebook page a historical photo of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, shaking the hand of a senior Nazi official in Berlin in 1941. The prosecution accused Stürzenberger of "inciting hatred towards Islam" and "denigrating Islam" by publishing the photograph. The court found Stürzenberger guilty of "disseminating the propaganda of anti-constitutional organizations". While the mutual admiration that once existed between al-Husseini and German Nazis is an undisputed historical fact, now evidently history is being rewritten by German courts. Stürzenberger has appealed the verdict.

Pyongyang accuses Japan of plotting ‘reinvasion of Korea’

North Korea has taken aim at the Japanese Government, accusing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his fellow “reactionaries” of laying the “groundwork for the reinvasion of the Korean peninsula.”

Abe dissolved Japan’s lower house of parliament last month, triggering a snap election that was held on Sunday, giving him a strong mandate to push a tougher foreign policy line, including on North Korea. Pyongyang reacted to Abe’s electoral victory with a statement on its official KCNA news agency, in which it claimed the move was little more than an attempt to revive Japan’s early-20th-century imperialism.

“What the Japanese reactionaries seek in deliberately linking their step to dissolve the House of Representatives with the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] is to gratify their ambition for staying in power and pave the groundwork for reinvasion of the Korean peninsula in order to realize the old dream of the ‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’,” the statement read, referring to Japan’s name for its occupied territories during World War II.

The statement also criticized Japan for harboring US military bases and facilitating American military activity in the region, as well as allegedly failing to make up for its past crimes.

Woman Who Cannot Read, Write, or Speak English Granted US Citizenship

Southern California resident Jovita Mendez doesn’t speak English. She can’t read or write, in any language. But she longed for a better future for herself and, this week, she achieved that by finally becoming a U.S. citizen.“I didn’t think that I would be able to accomplish this, but I did it,” Mendez told NBC 7 in Spanish, holding back tears after being naturalized in a ceremony alongside 700 immigrants in downtown San Diego on Thursday.

Mendez, originally from Mexico, has lived in the United States for 20 years. She has always wanted to become a U.S. citizen but illiteracy and the language barrier have held her back.

“I don’t know how to read, I don’t know how to write,” Mendez explained.

Eventually, she memorized all 100 civics questions and the answers.

“I learned the words,” she explained.

Mendez was ready to take her test.

On her first try, she failed.

But she didn’t let that get her down. Mendez’s children pushed her to keep studying.

On her second attempt, she passed.

Catalonia's region’s police will NOT follow Rajoy’s demands

CATALONIA is set to defy any attempt by Madrid to impose direct rule over the region which will see the region’s police stand in defiance of control from the Spanish capital.

The north east region’s government, based in Barcelona, said it was confident officials, including the police - Mossos d'Esquadra - would defy attempts to enforce direct rule on the semi-autonomous region, should Article 155 of the constitution be activated.

Catalonia went ahead with the vote despite Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, backed by the Constitutional Court, deeming the vote illegal and attempting to halt the referendum with both the Guardia Civil and the national police using brutal methods to stop people from voting.

But leaders of the secessionist campaign said the referendum, in which 43 per cent of the electorate voted, gave them a mandate to claim independence from the rest of Spain.

Catalonia's foreign affairs chief Raul Romeva told BBC radio: ”It's not that we will refuse (orders). It is not a personal decision. It is a seven million-person decision.”

Mr Romeva was asked whether he believed all institutions, including the police, would follow orders from Catalan institutions rather than obey the Spanish government.

He said: ”And from that perspective, I have no doubt that all civil servants in Catalonia will keep following the instructions provided by the elected and legitimate institutions that we have right now in place (in Catalonia).”

Catalan authorities said about 90 per cent of those who took part in the referendum voted for independence.

"Having a female body and knowing what that means for reproduction doesn’t make you ‘exclusionary’.

"Forcing us to decorously scrub out any reference to our sex on pain of being called bigots is an insult.”

Mueller Now Investigating Democratic Lobbyist Tony Podesta

Tony Podesta and the Podesta Group are now the subjects of a federal investigation being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, three sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News.

The probe of Podesta and his Democratic-leaning lobbying firm grew out of Mueller's inquiry into the finances of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort [1], according to the sources. As special counsel, Mueller has been tasked with investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Manafort had organized a public relations campaign for a non-profit called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine (ECMU). Podesta's company was one of many firms that worked on the campaign, which promoted Ukraine's image in the West.

The sources said the investigation into Podesta and his company began as more of a fact-finding mission about the ECMU and Manafort's role in the campaign, but has now morphed into a criminal inquiry into whether the firm violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, known as FARA.

Man...
Between the Lady passing a naturalization test after not learninh the language FOR 20 ******* YEARS.
the Germans saying"nah fam censorship is kewl"
And the pregnant ****.
I am teeming with rage.

Dont be too angry over the Illiterate lady one, at least she was legal. Alot of people forget that sometimes when you come from real ******** situations, you dont have the means or time to learn stuff as easily as others.

Plus she actually went through with becoming a citizen, which is more than i can say for alot of bilingual DACA ******* at Uni

I dare you to go over to San Diego some time. Alot of the immigrants both legal and illegal are brought over as field labor for the SoCal farms and general labor where they have to do backbreaking work for long hours with ****** pay. Not alot of time or resources available to learn english properly when you'e dirt poor and working from dawn till dusk.

But lets take your side for a moment. Could she have gotten over her shame and taken it sooner? Possibly, but its a process that takes years in itself; harder if your illiterate too. But the fact of the matter is that she had always wanted to become a citizen and persevered to become one when so many indignant people here refuse to. And that I respect

She probably knows some but mostly broken. Its called ethnic enclaves man. Not alot of intellectual reading going on when youre more focused on working. Plus its not like you dont have the same issue with T*rks in your country. Way i hear it, some of them have been in germany for decades and still dont speak a lick of Deutsche

The guy jailed probably deserved it. Well it's not my right to say. He isnt'jailed for posting the picture, he is jailed for posting the pic while rabble-rousing, like hardcore rabble-rousing. Everyone here in Germany can post this picture wherever the **** they want! I can post it 300 times on my Facebook-Profile and noone would bat an eye. But hey, just believe what someone else tells you and don't check the facts. As long it fits your political view.

For starters he got 6 months probation and wasn't jailed. Next is the photo i posted with his Facebook photo. He was not put on probation for his Facebook post but to what he said. In Germany the Law term is Abuse of confessions, religious associations and world-view associations. What is a crime in Germany like the 1960's or so.

Isn't "what he said" part of the FB post, or is there something else that happened than "post text and image to FB, get summoned to court, sentenced"? Did he make a public appeal, separate from the FB post?

"In Germany the Law term is Abuse of confessions, religious associations and world-view associations."
I can't parse this. what exactly does this mean? He committed "abuse of X"? I guess i can understand that, from what german i understand in his post.

"What is a crime in Germany like the 1960's or so."
what?

I think your point is that he isn't innocent, but i can't be sure, because you word yourself like a drunk.

Abuse of confessions, religious associations and world-view associations that is a crime here. Its called like that here, i have no other translation for that and im sorry that my english is'nt as good as yours.

Not that im fluent in german but it looks more like he was simply criticizing islamists involvment with nazis and political correctness diverting any and all critical thinking regarding islam, im gonna go with that youre full of ****, criticizing islam is not "rabble-rousing"

Canned hate is good but have you ever hade angry orange juice from concentrate? It's the end result of submitting an orange tree to whippings, verbal abuse, watering them Tabasco sauce and forcing them to watch NTR porn.

> Germany going full big Brother
> Pregnant woman no longer acceptable, even when women are the only 'people' that can be pregnant in any way.
> Lady in the U.S. illegally for 20 ******* YEARS passes test by memorizing answers and not learning English

The guy jailed probably deserved it. Well it's not my right to say. He isnt'jailed for posting the picture, he is jailed for posting the pic while rabble-rousing, like hardcore rabble-rousing. Everyone here in Germany can post this picture wherever the **** they want! I can post it 300 times on my Facebook-Profile and noone would bat an eye. But hey, just believe what someone else tells you and don't check the facts. As long it fits your political view.

I have two friends there, both female.
On voice chat, I hear how utterly upset they are about the Arabic ******** Germany has become thanks to your Chancellor forgetting the reason borders exist.
They fear walking the streets alone due to how violent and prone to 'sexual emergencies' these third world savages are prone to.
I don't have to live there to know what's going on.
My friends let me know what's happening.
I'm more inclined to believe them more than some guy who copy-pasted the same comment five or so times when they mentioned the article about your country using 1984 as a tutorial.
Back to the topic at hand of the actual content of which my original comment derived of, the new law is nearing UK levels of big-brother. It's the German state issuing these take-downs, and that means anything they don't like, they can issue a take-down notice on. That's full-blown state-run censorship. Are you guys starting another Reich?

I was once telling people here that some of my fellow "Mitbürger" just freaking out for what they see in the news. I bet your friends never truly faced violence ever. But I can't be sure so if they did then I'm sorry. It's just not like pretended. I live here. It's no ********. Believe me or not.

Well, as I said, they've told me what they've seen and how life has changed since the migrants were allowed into Germany in what can only be described as hordes. It may be different in your area, you may simply live in a better area than where they decide, who knows.

Is Oktoberfest still nice?
It was a dream of mine to go there at some point, but the whole migrant thing has me worried, especially when they got up in arms about people drinking beer at it since it coincided with Ramadan or whatever the **** religious thing was going on with them.

Hah Oktoberfest is still nice if you enjoy these things.
On Oktoberfest are enough big, bald bulky guys which hobby it is to punch migrants so the migrants who want to make a fuzz get put down. So you don't have to worry.

They call it "Negerklatschen" what literally means "Negro clapping" what in germany means the negro has to hit the ground from a high spot like above your head. But that's not my hobby so I have no practice.

>big, bald bulky guys which hobby it is to punch migrants so the migrants who want to make a fuzz get put down.
I needed that laugh, thanks mate.
Then maybe Oktoberfest is still worth going to, gotta re-add it to my bucket list.
Also, I have absolutely no idea where my profile image is from. I used it back when admin was asking for people to make banners for the imageboards and decided the one I edited would look nice as my user image.

The guy jailed probably deserved it. Well it's not my right to say. He isnt'jailed for posting the picture, he is jailed for posting the pic while rabble-rousing, like hardcore rabble-rousing. Everyone here in Germany can post this picture wherever the **** they want! I can post it 300 times on my Facebook-Profile and noone would bat an eye. But hey, just believe what someone else tells you and don't check the facts. As long it fits your political view.

""This [draft law] sets out binding standards for the way operators of social networks deal with complaints and obliges them to delete criminal content," Justice Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement announcing the planned legislation.

"Criminal" content? Statements that are deemed illegal under German law are now being conflated with statements that are merely deemed, subjectively and on the basis of entirely random complaints from social media users -- who are free to abuse the code of conduct to their heart's content -- to be "hate speech". "Hate speech" has included critiques of Chancellor Angela Merkel's migration policies."

A direct quote of the Justice Minister. "Hate speech" is a criminal offense. According to wikipedia, the it is called Volksverhetzungen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volksverhetzung. It's directly tied into German law and they charged him with "inciting hatred towards islam" which would be a criminal offense thanks to this Volksverhetzung ********. The prosecution was directly related to the picture he sent so he was prosecuted for posting the picture.

>Stop believing ********, start factchecking GOD ******* DAMN.

The facts were presented to me and I checked them. Evidently, you did not and neither did you provide any counter-evidence. You even admitted to not really even knowing what was going on:
"The guy jailed probably deserved it."

You didn't even know why, but you just claimed it was ******** and then claimed that he wasn't jailed for the picture(which he was).

"Meanwhile, the district court in Munich recently gave a German journalist, Michael Stürzenberger, a six-month suspended jail sentence for posting on his Facebook page a historical photo of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, shaking the hand of a senior Nazi official in Berlin in 1941. The prosecution accused Stürzenberger of "inciting hatred towards Islam" and "denigrating Islam" by publishing the photograph. The court found Stürzenberger guilty of "disseminating the propaganda of anti-constitutional organizations". While the mutual admiration that once existed between al-Husseini and German Nazis is an undisputed historical fact, now evidently history is being rewritten by German courts. Stürzenberger has appealed the verdict."

He posted a historical picture and got prosecuted for "inciting hatred towards Islam". He was jailed for posting that picture because it was deemed that it incited hatred towards Islam. Read the articles and offer proof before claiming ********. OP shared multiple articles. You shared no evidence.

>But hey, just believe what someone else tells you and don't check the facts. As long it fits your political view.

I checked the sources. You provided no source. So you're saying I shouldn't believe people who give sources and just believe what you tell me even though you provided no evidence? Do you not see the irony there? Also, my political view has nothing to do with this at all. I'm concerned over anyone who gets jailed for retarded reasons. Maybe you should check the facts about me before jumping to the conclusion that my response is any way related to my "political views"(which you don't even know what my views are".

******* WHAT!!!! The **** my mother and grandparents had to deal with to become citzens and this bitch get it like nothing? My mother earned a masters, my grandfather was a soldier and worked several jobs just to support my family and my grandmother had to teach herself how to read and write after my great grandma and grandpa died when she was young and she’s given a free chance?!?! I’m beyond mad, I’m foaming at the mouth. **** this state

I'm not upset about the immigrant lady. She became a citizen, she could've stay undocumented and illegal, but she chose to gain citizenship properly. She probably works, and now pays taxes. She isn't violent, or trying to push beliefs on other people. She might be hard for non-spanish speakers to communicate with, but it's the 2nd most common language in the U.S., so it's not the worst thing in the world. I'm happy for her.

Let's work backwards with this. Why would this woman work so hard, memorize a lengthy test and it's answers. NOT by actually learning to speak the language but just memorizing shapes and symbols in her eyes. All to become a citizen? I wonder if there are any government funded benefits she might now be receiving...

The guy jailed probably deserved it. Well it's not my right to say. He isnt'jailed for posting the picture, he is jailed for posting the pic while rabble-rousing, like hardcore rabble-rousing. Everyone here in Germany can post this picture wherever the **** they want! I can post it 300 times on my Facebook-Profile and noone would bat an eye. But hey, just believe what someone else tells you and don't check the facts. As long it fits your political view.

So you know i can understand that you have no clou about my country, but that comment was just retarded.

The law, what everyone talks about forces sites like FB to censor rabble-rouses. Like they did just good ´before the law. No one sucks jewisch or arabic coks here you know? The only guys cocksucking here in germany are the politicans, and they suck the cock of the lobbyists. Every thing done the past 15 years was made up by lobbysts who gain the profit from it. And it isnt that bad in germany how everyone wants you guys to believe, there are also the idiot germans who jumped on the train spouting we are doomed. But in defense, I rarely see more foreigners here then 10 years ago, I can say what the **** i want. No one ******* cares. But everyone crys how bad it is like in every other country.

I'm not. Not really. I lived in Germany for several years in my childhood, and Egypt, Canada, and even Brazil for a year each. I know what it WAS like when I was there, and the U.S. really is better in most regards to those places, but not to the extent many try to pretend it is.